Clamping mechanism for glass mold



Dec. 11, 1962 H. T. SCHIRM 3,067,598

CLAMPING MECHANISM FOR GLASS MOLD Filed March 28, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR.

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CLAMPING MECHANISM FOR GLASS MOLD Filed March 28, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 23,%7,598 Patented Dec. 11, 19-52 3,067,598 CLAMPKNG MECHANESM FOR GLASSMOLD Helrnut T. Schirni, Toledo, Uhio, assignor to Dwens-lliinois GlassCompany, a corporation of Ohio Filed Mar. 255, 196i), Ser. No. 18,071 4Claims. (Cl. 65-360) The present invention relates to improvements inthe blank mold assembly of a glass forming mechanism used for forming aglass parison, which is comprised of a plurality of components thatincludes a blank body mold and cooperating bafile; and, moreparticularly, to a clamp mechanism for clamping the components tightlytogether in an operating glass molding position. The clamp device of thepresent invention is adapted to be mounted for carriage with the bafileand clamps the mold and baffle tightly together when they are in glassmolding position.

In glass forming machines presently employed, it is common practice toemploy a blank mold which is disposed with the axis of its cavityvertical and open at opposite axial ends. A pair of cooperating neckrings or molds are manipulated to be adjacent the lowermost end openingof the mold, and charges of molten glass in the form of glass gobs areloaded to the mechanism through the open upper end of the blank mold.After the glass charge is loaded, the open upper end of the mold isclosed by the baffle. Thus, with the mold charged with hot glass and thebaflie seated to close the upper end of the mold, the mold componentsare arranged in their glass molding position. A plunger is registeredwith the neck rings and operated in a reciprocating fashion axially ofthe neck rings into and out of the blank mold cavity through the lowerend opening or" the overlying blank mold. The plunger may take variousforms which identify it with variousknown processes for manufacture ofcontainers by machine.

In the blo-w-and-blow type machine, the plunger is relatively short andis inserted through the neck to form the mouth opening of the containerat the portion formed in the neck mold, and a fluid, such as pressurizedair, is

introduced axially through the plunger to blow out the parison to itsshape in the blank mold.

In the press-and-blow type machine, the plunger is longer and isinserted through the neck to form the mouth opening of the container andpress the parison to its shape in the blank mold. These latter plungersmay take one of two general forms used for making either wide mouthcontainers or narrow neck containers. It follows that, in physicalshape, the wide mouth type plunger is of a greater diameter than thenarrow neck type.

It is axiomatic, therefore, that, of the types of forming operationsjust outlined, varying pressing forces result within and on the blankmold during forming the charge of glass to parison shape. These forcesexert themselves in more than one direction. In this connection, speedof operation of the machine also introduces a variable in these forces.Hence, the mechanism necessary to hold the various parts of the blankmold assembly in operating relationship during forming the parisonbecomes an important factor in the limitations of operation of aparticular machine.

In reference specifically to the plural mold components of thearrangements mentioned, certain machines employ split blank body moldsin combination with a baffie, and other machines employ a one-pieceblank body mold in combination with a bathe. in the former, a moldclosing device is employed to close and hold the halves of the splitmold closed during the parison forming operation. The bafile in eithercase is fastened to a carriage member that is operated to move thebaflle between a remote out-of-the-way position into a seated operatingposition closing the upper end opening of the mold. in its operatingposition, the bathe is held in its seating relationship by a bafllehold-down device in the form of a cylinder motor and baffle arm. Thecylinder of this device is the same cylinder motor mechanism employed tobring the bafile into alignment and onto its seat on the open upper endof the mold. The prior devices have disadvantages in that, under highpressing forces, the bame tends to be lifted, and the cylinder mechanismmust be unduly large in relation to the requirements of its functions intransporting the battle. On the other hand, cylinder motors of adequatesize to merely transport the bathe do not provide adequate hold-downpressure to seat the baffle under high speed operation or counteract thehigh pressing forces exerted within the mold by the plunger operation.

It is, accordingly, an object of the invention to provide a baffle clampthat will clamp the bathe and the mold together during plungeroperation, and overcome these disadvantages in the prior structures,and, at the same time, provide high clamping pressures.

An important object of the invention also resides in the provision of aclamping device for a plural component glass mold assembly which isactuated in the forming operation of the machine to clamp thesecomponents tightly together in an operative position for forming anarticle of glass therein, and thereby prevent the glass from beingsqueezed out into the joints between these components of the assembly.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a new bafile clampmechanism that is of simple construction and readily adaptable for usewith a number of existing glass forming machines.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a clamping devicemounted for carriage with the bathe, and brought to clamp the batlle andthe mold together after the former is seated on the latter, and preventheavy seams or baflle marks on the glass article through application ofa high degree of clamping pressure, as needed, thus preventingseparation of the mold parts when forces are applied to form the parisonin the mold.

The specific nature of this invention, as well as other objects andadvantages thereof, will become apparent to those skilled in the artfrom the following detailed de scription, taken in conjunction with theannexed sheets of drawings, on which, by way of preferred example only,is illustrated an embodiment of this invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional elevational view of a split blank moldassembly showing the present invention in operation, clamping a seatedbaffle tightly onto the upper end of the closed split mold and clampingthe upper part of the mold, thereby biasing the opening of the splitmold. Also shown is the common carriage for the battle and the clampingdevice.

FlG. 2 is a sectional plan View taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevational view of the parts on FIG. 1, showingthe bafiie and clamping device moved to a remote out-of-the-way positionby the carriage with the clamp opened.

Referring to the drawings, a blank mold it is shown as comprised of apair of complementary mold halves 11a and 11b which are mounted on means(not shown) for moving them toward and away from each other so that,when closed as shown on the drawings, their interfaces coincide on amold parting line A. Alternatively, the blank mold may be of one-piececonstruction, thus eliminating the mold seam at the parting line A, but,aside from this just-mentioned diiference, the one-piece blank moldwould be similar to the split blank mold shown on FIGS. 1 and 3.Accordingly, so that the drawings are not unduly multiplied, theone-piece blank mold is not illustrated specifically on the drawings. ineither the split mold oione-piece mold, an interior cavity is providedand is open at the top and bottom ends. The top opening of the moldforms an annular battle seat match 12. The upper ends of the mold halvesIlia and iii) are provided with complementary annular bosses having acommon downwardly and inwardly tapering surface and an upper flat baifieseat surface 14.

A bathe 15 is shown on KG. 1 closing the upper end opening of the moldcavity 25. The baflie includes an annular boss 16 corresponding to boss13 on the mold and has an upwardly inwardly tapering surface and a lowerfiat baiiie seat surface 17. The two bosses l3 and 1.6, whenjuxtapositioned, form annular outwardly pro jecting clamping surfacesthat form a generally wedgeshaped boss. inwardly of the bathe seat 17,the battle; has a projection that provides a closure part for the moldopening. This provides a bathe seat matching surface 18 that correspondsto the mold seat match 12. The lower end of the baffle has a contouredmolding surface 19 adapted to align on the mold cavity and form the oneend of the parison disposed opposite the container neck (not shown). Theupper end of battle 15 has a male joint 2% of a bayonet-type connectorfor attaching the baffle on a battle holder 21. A matching female joint22 is provided at the lower end of the baflie holder 21.

The bafile holder 21 is an integral part of a carriage which comprisesbafile arm 23 and integeral boss 24 pinconnected at 26 onto a verticalpiston rod 27. The rod 27 is attached as a part of a cylinder motor (notshown) that is operated through a raising and lowering movement and acoincident swinging movement for bringing the baflie between a raisedand remote position (FIG. 3) and a seated relationship on the mold seatmatch 12, the latter being the glass molding position of the variousmold components as shown on FIG. 1. The baffle holder 21 has oppositelydisposed pairs of ears 23 that form a yoke therebetween. These ears 2%are disposed on opposite sides of the mold seam or parting line A. Apair of clamp members, as toggle arms 29', are pivotally mounted on theholder 21 within these yokes by pivot pins 30. Each arm Z has a clampingshoe 31 mounted at its lower end. The shoes correspond to thewedge-shaped clamping surface of bosses 13 and 16. The mounting for theshoes 31 on their arms 29 permits limited rocking movement as well as alimited vertical movement to enable the clamps 31 to adjust themselveson their closing movement to the annular bosses 13 and 16. This mountingis shown as comprising a yoked mounting bracket 32 that fits about arm29-. The lower portion of arm 29 has a convex bearing surface 33. Theshoe 31 is pin-connected at 34 through a vertically elongated slot 35 inthe arm 29. The shoe 31 may thus rock a limited amount about its pivot34 guided along the bearing surface 33, and may slide -a limited amountvertically through the pin 34, slot 35 connection on the arm '29.

The upper ends of the toggle arms 2% are connected to pairs of togglelinks 36 (H6. 2) by pins 37. The links as are commonly connected on apiston rod yoke 38 of a piston rod 39 by a connecting pin 4%. The linksare spaced apart on the pin 4% by a journalled roller 41. The yoke 38tits in a vertical yoke guide casting 42 that is integrally connected tothe upper part of bafile holder 21. The casting d2 has opposite verticalslots 43 to accommodate up and down movement of the toggle links 36. Asmay be seen on HQ. 3, vertical slots 54 are provided to accommodate upand down movement of the pin along the yoke guide casting d2.

Mounted at the top part of the casting 42 is a single actingfluid-operated cylinder motor 4 Motor 44 includes its cylinder 45,piston 46, and cylinder head 47. The piston rod 39 is attached to thepiston 46 by nut 48. The cylinder head 47 is formed with a dome 49 toprovide head clearance for the nut 48. Dome 4 9 also includes the inletand exhaust port 5% connected to pipe 51. Pipe 51 is connected to asuitable valve (not shown) for operating the motor in reciprocatingfashion, as desired, by alternatively connecting the pipe to a source offluid, such as air, under pressure, or connecting it to exhaust. Thus,as the cylinder 45 is supplied by a source of fluid under pressure, suchas may be avail able, the piston 46 is forced downwardly or toward thebathe holder 21, causing the toggle links 36 to extend laterallyoutwardly and thereby pivot the toggle arms 29 in opposite directions tomove the clamping shoes 31 toward each other and into engagement withthe bosses l3 and 16 of the mold and bafile, respectively, as shown onHG. 1. Since the shoes are brought toward clamping engagement in anarcuate path, their mounting on the arm 29, described above, allows themto adjust in clamping so that they clamp evenly and firmly on the bossesl3 and 16. When the shoes 31 are clamped, aspientioned, they tightlyclamp the baffle onto its mold seat and also clamp the uppcrend of themold halves tightly closed.

When the cylinder is connected to exhaust, a compressed piston returnspring 52 at the under side of piston 46 drives the piston upwardly oraway from the bathe holder 21, causing the toggle links 36 to pulllaterally in- Wardly and thereby pivot the toggle arms 29 in oppositedirections to move the clamping shoes 31 away from each other andrelease their clamp on the bosses l3 and 16. The release position isshown on FIG. 3.

The piston 46 of motor 44 is provided with the necessary and usual ringseals (not shown) between it and the cylinder walls. The lower end ofthe cylinder 45 is also provided with vents 53 to retain the cylinderportion below the piston 46 at atmospheric pressure at all times.

Having described a preferred embodiment of the invention, an example ofthe practical adaptation of the foregoing into operation on a glassforming machine is given by the following.

Let rod 27 be the piston rod of the bafile cylinder motor on thewell-known Hartford-Empire IS (individual section) machine that operatesaccording to the disclosure in US. Patent No. 2,508,890, issued to G. E.Rowe. In such machine, its operation is by the control of a timingdevice to time the lowering and seating of the bafile on the blank moldin sequence with closing and loading that mold with glass. The clampmeans of the present invention is then operated by means of the abovemotor 44 and linkages 36 which may be activated for clamping movementunder control of the machine timing device and in proper sequence afterseating the bafile but before driving the pressing plunger of the blankmold assembly into the mold to shape the glass to a parison. Likewise,after pressing of the parison is completed, motor 44 will be inactivatedby exhaust of pressure fluid, and the clamp released as aforementioned,whereupon, the bafiie carriage is operated in the usual manner to takethe bafile to a remote out-oftl1e-way position, and the blank moldopened in the standard manner. Thus, the invention is adaptable toexisting glass forming machinery.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of constructionmay be modified through a wide range without departing from theprinciples of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose tolimit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scopeof the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a blank mold assembly of a glass forming mechanism, including ablank mold defining a cavity having an open end, a baffle for closingsaid open end, and a carriage supporting the baflle, said carriage beingmovable to one position to seat the battle on the mold thereby to closethe open end of the mold and movable to a second position to uncover themold, said open end of the mold and said bafile having matching seatsurfaces and annular bosses extending radially outwardly from said seatsurfaces, the improvement which comprises a toggle mechanism includingopposed arms pivotally mounted on the carrige on diametrically oppositesides of the baflde, a shoe mounted on one end of each of said arms,each of said shoes having a pair of spaced portions extending radiallyinwardly, said portions being adapted simultaneously to enclose andclamp together both of the bosses on the mold and the baffle when saidbaffle is seated on the mold, and means connected to the other end ofeach of said arms for moving said shoes toward and away from the bossesto effect clamping and unclamping of the bosses.

2. In the mechanism defined in claim 1, wherein each of said shoes ispivoted to its toggle arm by means permitting limited vertical androcking movement of the shoe with respect to said arm.

3. The mechanism defined in claim 1, wherein the means for pivoting thearms comprise toggle links, each pivotally connected at one end to oneof the arms at its said other end, a reciprocable member pivotallyconnected to each of said toggle links at its other end and arranged formovement between the arms in a direction 6 along the plane of said armsand toward and away from said bafile, and means for reciprocating saidmem ber, whereby its movement toward the bafile actuates the toggle armsto enclose and clamp the bosses of the bafile and mold and movement awayfrom the baffle actuates the toggle arms in the opposite direction.

4. In the mechanism defined in claim 3, wherein said mold comprises apartible blank body having complementary mold halves, each having a bossextending radially outwardly from the matching surfaces, said togglemechanism and said shoes being disposed on opposite sides of the partingline of said mold and being adapted to hold the mold halves and thebafile in mold closing relation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,607,254 Fantz Nov. 16, 1926 1,836,646 Crile Dec. 15, 1931 2,111,296ONeill Mar. 15, 1938 2,496,016 Nelson Jan. 31, 1950 2,818,684 Lauck Ian.7, 1958 2,908,114 Fouse Oct. 13, 1959

